1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved device for the trimming of the hair. More particularly it relates to a device which will trim a predetermined substantial equal amount from the ends of the individual hair shafts distal from the hair follicles for removal of the split ends derived from frequent combing and washings. The predetermined lengths of the hair shafts are thus trimmed while leaving adjacent longer hair shafts intact. The device also features removable blade mechanisms for user adjustment of hair trim length and optionally hair drying.
2. Prior Art
Because of the changing styles and the inevitability that the hair on a person""s head will grow and need to be cut, visits to hairstylists and barbers are a common occurrence in the United States and throughout the world. Hairstylists and barbers are trained in the art of cutting hair to their clients specifications using motorized and hand held implements such as scissors and electric clippers. Sometimes the person desires a new hairstyle, but more often they are happy with the hairstyle and only require a given amount cut from the ends of the hair shafts. However, one vexing problem exists whether the hair on a persons head is being cut by a trained stylist of the individual needing the trim or an amateur, split ends must be removed to keep the hairstyle looking good. Split ends are a constant and continuous product of combing and brushing of hair and can cause the hair to look unhealthy as well as just unfashionable.
The current method of trimming split ends, either by the highly trained stylist or the amateur involves a time-consuming process. The hair must be stretched relatively taught using the hand or a comb or combination thereof, and delicately trimming only the ends of the individual hairs distal from the follicles on the scalp. An errant cut will yield harsh marks, uneven cuts, or other undesired results in the head of hair of the person receiving the hair cut.
Split ends are an especially vexing problem in the case of hair shoulder length and longer in styles worn by women and men. Because of the varying length of the strands of hair involved from the ears down to the shoulders or below, it is especially time consuming to try and trim only the ends of the hair, a very small relatively equal amount, while not accidentally cutting long adjacent strands. This process is made even harder when the style of cut is tapered through the length and just the short ends require cutting maintaining the tapered style. Hours can be spent by professional hair stylists trying to trim the split ends on a persons"" long hair. It is virtually impossible for a person with long hair to trim the split ends themselves as cutting the split ends of the hair on the back of one""s head, using a mirror and scissors is a task fraught with peril. One slip and the hairstyle could be ruined by cutting some long strands of the hair laying adjacent to the distal split ends on shorter hair shafts. A number of devices have been developed over the years for trimming hair to be used by amateurs and professional hair stylists alike. Such devices attempt to allow amateurs to cut hair into professional looking styles or to enhance the ability of professional stylists by giving them another tool for their trade.
While many of these devices address the issue of cutting hair and styling it, few devices address the issue of split ends on the distal ends of the hair and removing only a predetermined short length of the unhealthy distal ends. Further, on very long hair, even if the ends are not split, all hair does not grow at the same rate and the aged distal hair shaft ends are often removed as a cosmetic aid to beautifying the head of hair getting rid of frizzy and unattractive hair ends. To remove such damage or unattractive hair shaft ends without ruining the hair style of the individual or causing major change in styles requires that only the short pieces of the distal ends of the hair shafts be cut off without disturbing longer adjacent healthy normal appearing hair shafts. This can be very tedious if not an impossible task with the hundreds of hairs on an individuals"" head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,939 (Smith) teaches a combination of a rotating brush, comb and razor blade arranged to cut a broad swath of hair when in use. However, Smith requires many adjustments by the individual using the device and it is intended to cut long pieces of hair as determined by the circumference of the rotating brush. This device, because of its arrangement cannot be configured to cut only a short length of hair from the distal ends of the hair shafts in relatively equal amounts as required to trim split ends and unhealthy or unattractive hair ends. Further, because it is drawn through the hair by hand to rotate the brush, the user is in a constant peril of having hairs wrap around the brush into a tangle or of pulling the device sideways through the hair and accidentally cutting off broad swatches of adjacent hair. Often these razor blade cutters pull the hair to cut, rather than shearing action for hair for removal. This pulling may produce a great deal of discomfort for the individual receiving the hair cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,088 (Queen) teaches of a guide for trimming hair whereby a user can taper or feather the cut of the hair from the neckline to the temples. This device however requires holding the guide in one hand and the electric clippers in the other. Such an arrangement precludes use by an individual in cutting their own hair, and requires constant attention and the skill of a stylist or second person to cut the hair on which the device is being used. It would be virtually impossible for a user to cut the hair on the back of their head in this manor and Queen""s patent by its own teaching addresses tapering and feathering of haircuts rather than just the removal of split ends. Further, it would be virtually impossible without great effort and time, to cut only a substantially equal portion from the distal end of individual hair strands while leaving adjacent longer hair strands untouched with this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,116 (Stein) teaches of a hair trimming device using a rotatable blade on a comb like guide. This device is however designed to cut bangs rather than split ends and because as taught, it requires two hands to use it, it is unlikely that anyone could use this device on the back of the head without the aide of another individual to guide the device. Again, trimming substantially equal amounts from the distal ends of hairs would be extremely time consuming and require great dexterity if it could be accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,402 (Talavera) teaches of a unique device that accomplishes the difficult task of cutting only the distal ends of the hair strands, and can be used by a trained hair stylist or an amateur. This hair trimming device can also be used by a single individual, with some limitations. The motor driving the cutting blades is taught as only spinning in one direction allowing that the instrument must be used in the right hand only and the hair need to enter on one side only. Also the limited hair guides on the face of the device while functional, do not necessarily allow that the hair to always follow a straight path over the roller when passing through the device and the cutting blades require a better shearing action to effectively cut the distal ends of the hair strands.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improvement in devices used in the field of hair styling, in particular where the cutting split ends and trimming a predetermined length off the ends of the hair is required.
The applicant""s device is a component interchangeable hair maintenance tool which provides a user configurable hair trimmer used for trimming substantially equal short pieces of hair shafts which form split ends or unattractive or unhealthy hair ends. Various components may be added or traded onto the device to change the length of hair trimmed, dry the hair, or allow for the use of shears to cut certain portions of the hair if desired. The split end cutting operation takes place by only removing the distal ends of the hair, while leaving adjacent shafts of longer hair lengths uncut until the device reaches the distal ends of those strands.
Several improvements incorporated into the operation of this device serve to enhance or improve that operation. These improvements include interchangeable components which may be removed or substituted to change the length of hair trimmed, allow for hand trimming, or drying the hair while concurrently straightening it. When sold or provided for use in a kit form, the improvements provided by the various components can be interchanged by the user to yield the desired outcome. These improvements all enhance the ability of the device when used in conjunction with the novel serpentine movement of the hair through the device whereby the ends of the hair shafts flip up into the cutting blades as they pass over the central structure of the hinged retainer, while the longer hair shafts remain held against the retainer central section until they reach their distal ends.
With the improved unit the hair shafts are held against an angular pressure unit by the means of the operator pressing the retainer-activating lever against the handle to raise the hinged retainer into the operating position. The degree of angle on the angular pressure unit determines how long the strands of hair are retained before the ends flip up into the blade of the cutter assembly. Several different degrees of angle are available on the pressure unit so that different lengths of hair may be cut off. The angular pressure unit slides in and out of the cutter head by the means of two dovetails formed on the sides of the retainer cavity. Two, matching dovetail grooves in the angular adjustment unit allow that a number of different units with different angles be used in the device. With the novelty of this incorporation, as the hair passes through the serpentine channel of the device, the individual may by the means of the cut length adjustment mechanism, determined the precise amount of hair that is removed from the hair shafts.
A unique hair cutting assembly component and drive system has been created whereby a rotational direction switch determines both on and off and the direction the motor will drive the cutting blade. In doing this the hair trimmer may be held in either hand, with the hair passing through the serpentine hair channel form left to right or from right to the left. The removable cutter assembly retained in the cutter head has an internal gear drive wheel attached to the cutter blade that rotates within a blade frame, held in place by nylon bushing at either end. The drive motor within the cutter body has a gear system with a fixed gear that extends out to engage the internal gear wheel on the cutter assembly. Two shear plates mounted on each side of the frame allow that the blade may rotate in either direction and cut effectively. The shear plate(s) have a retaining edge and two retaining tabs to hold them in a precise location on the blade frame, while the shearing edge turns down to engage the shearing edge of the cutter blade. Mounting the shear plates to the blade frame is accomplished by the means of three self-tapping screws that translate through flex rings enabling the shear plates to be flexible and maintain a uniform pressure against the cutting blade edge surfaces.
The hinged hair retainer that rotates into the retainer cavity of the cutter head has typical side configurations of a brush head. Each side incorporates a plurality of spines along the outermost edge and a series of ridges located on the flat surface insuring that the hair is retained in the plurality of spines of the detachable spine units attached to the cutter head. The detachable spine units will be available in sets, with varying number and length of spines, along with different degrees of flexibility in the composition of the plastic from which they are made.
The hair retainers"" central structure, where the hair rotates around to flip up into the cutter blade, has a smooth curved surface and a plurality of teeth maintaining the straight flow of the hair shafts through the serpentine hair channel. Hair trimming may also be accomplished without the aide of the detachable spine units, allowing the hair to pass directly over the surfaces of the cutter head with the hair being guided by the spines and teeth on the hair retainer only.
The cutter head assembly can be provided as a single attachable unit or in kit form with a plurality of head assemblies each having a plurality of small raised ridges that engage in a continuous slot around the mating end of the cutter body holding it securely in position but allowing that it may be removed with a slight axial pressure. The cutter head consists of two side lobes with the retainer cavity between. Each of the side lobes has four orifices for attaching the detachable spine units with the retainer cavity located between the lobes, and a single top lobe with a removable transparent door for cleaning the cut hair ends from the internal containment area. A locking pin translates outwardly from the cutter body above the cutter assembly adjacent to the mating ends, through an orifice in the cutter head and a matching orifice in the end of the transparent door. The locking pin insures that the door is closed when the cutter blade assembly is connected to the motor providing a means for safety closure for the device since the blade will not operate unless properly seated depressing the pin. Another safety protection is a grill in the retainer cavity that the hair flips up through to engage the cutter blade has 0.375 inch spaces and will not allow enough room to put a finger into the cutting blade.
The cutter body houses the electric drive motor for the cutter head. It also retains the pivot mechanism for the hair retainer and the retainer-activating lever. The rotational direction switch is located conveniently where it may be activated with the thumb while the fingers work the retainer-activating lever. In the handle mating cavity there will be two power prongs and a ground prong with mating orifices in the handle when the device is used with a house power connection cord or as shown with two power contacts, when used with battery""s or rechargeable sealed power handle.
Another embodiment of the device would feature the cutter body assembly having two parallel side lobes extending from the body assembly opposite the handle attachment to the body assembly. This embodiment would feature mounting pins on the rear side of the side lobes on a side opposite the slot. These pins would provide mounts for attachable blade assemblies, a hair drying component, or when such components are removed, access to the hair communicating through the slot so that the ends may be shear trimmed by hand if desired.
It is an object of this invention is to create a hair trimmer that can cut a more precise length of hair off the distal end of hair strands.
Another objective of this invention is to create a device that can be operated by an individual in either hand, and drawing the hair through the serpentine channel in either direction by the means of adjusting the direction of the rotation of the electric motor with a switch.
Another objective of this invention is to create a device with a means of continuous control of the hair passing through the serpentine channel made possible by the spines on the hair retainer, the spines on the detachable spine units and the teeth on top of the retainer central structure.
Still, another objective of this invention is to supply a cutter with different length adjustment mechanisms that can guarantee the precise lengths of the trimmed ends of the hair shafts.
An additional object of this invention is design a unique cutting blade assembly that can cut equally well in either direction of rotation, with a means of flexible resistance on the two shearing surfaces.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.